Page 114 of Your Coffin or Mine
“We are not doing it,” I say, glancing in the direction the lantern guy went. “That’s like the start of every horror story ever.” Shivers slide up my spine and Fifi yowls pitifully. “C’mon, it’s just a joke. We’re totally safe.”
I step back inside the castle tunnels and pull the lever again, relieved when the door slides back into place, blocking out the cold.Whoever that was out there is mental.
“Maybe there is another farther down that will take us back to the kitchen,” I murmur. I pet Fifi’s soft tawny coat. “Let’s get out of here, huh? Vlad or someone will find us eventually.”
“Isn’t this a pleasant surprise?”
Fifi goes ballistic at the sound of the low voice and barks his little squished face off, sending my anxiety racing toward newfound heights. My eyes go wide as he switches to a rumbling growl, his whole body vibrating in my arms.
“Who’s there?” I clutch him to my chest tightly and squint into the darkness past the dim lightbulb in this section of the passage, seeing only shadows.
“You’re a little far from home, aren’t you?” The words are low and sinister, making my stomach flip violently. I step toward the light, only to back into the shadows again when a man’s gunmetal-gray suit and pale skin flashes as he passes through it.
“Who’s there?” I repeat.
“Hush, poochie,” the male voice says, and Fifi stops growling, pressing his little body backward into mine with a whimper. “It’s easy to get lost down here, isn’t it?”
He comes closer, as I step toward the light again so I can see, nervous about being alone with a stranger in the dark.
“Listen, I don’t know who you are or what you want, but it’s creepy enough down here as is. So, if you could lay off being scary, that would be great,” I say as I force a fake laugh.
“Apologies,” the man says, before we both come into the sparse light.
A new kind of fear takes hold, rooting me to the fucking floor when I finally see him. My god, he’s fucking tall. He’s got to be almost seven feet because his head is practically touching the top of the passageway. He’s also so pale he makes Vlad look likea beach bro, and his eyes are an odd gray that almost appears silver.
I look up and realize I’ve seen that shocking white-blonde hair, and chiseled, clean-shaven face before. It’s been plastered across tabloids and prestigious magazines for years. Who doesn’t know him?
“You’re . . . you’re Frank Stein,” I gasp out.
His eyes that usually sparkle with charisma in photos look flat and annoyed.
“In the flesh,” he sneers. “You weren’t who I was looking for, but I’m pleased all the same.”
My expression falls as dread sends goosebumps across my arms and chest. I hold Fifi tighter.
“Since you’re here, let’s see about getting you out of Romania before you cause any more problems for our dear friend Dracula.”
Fifi starts growling again as the hulking man moves toward me with his hand out.
I narrow my eyes and back up a step. “I think I’d rather stay here, if it’s all the same to you.”
Most women would give their left tit to trade places with me right now, but I am picking up on everything but warm and fuzzy feelings while being alone with him. I just want Vlad and to get out of this creepy tunnel, in whatever order that needs to happen.
He chuckles, yet his head twists in an unnatural, almost inspecting manner. “Isn’t this typical? Don’t you know what he is?”
“I know he hasn’t been a jerk to me, and he’s not holding me hostage down here like some creep.”
My palms grow clammy when he stares at me blankly. Not an eye twitch, nothing, and it freaks me out. If Vlad istheDracula, then doesn’t that mean...?
His name. “Oh my god, are you the real Frankenstein’s?—?”
His dark and maniacal laugh cuts me off. “No, but my creator drew inspiration from that silly tale.” He bashes the wall with his fist to scare me on purpose, and I jump. “I am much more cunning and dangerous.”
The way he looks at me, like I’m disposable, makes me gulp. I tremble, frozen in place, unsure of how to get myself away from him.
“You have two options, little lamb. You can leave with me, and I’ll put you on a plane to whatever hovel it is you call home, or I can kill you,” he finally says, unblinking.
Panic climbs up through my chest into my throat, and my brain short circuits. “Umm, but why?”
